COVID-19 Operational Documents & Response Tools

Regional COVID-19 Coordination Center (RC3)

The Regional COVID-19 Coordination Center (RC3), the product of ongoing collaboration between Western Washington Disaster Medical Coordination Centers and the Northwest Healthcare Response Network, was established to triage and place COVID-19 and related patients requiring acute hospital care in an equitable manner across western Washington. Operated 24/7 out of Harborview Medical Center, the RC3 aims to prevent any single hospital or small group of hospitals from experiencing significant COVID-19-related resource strain by balancing patient placement across the region and supporting transport coordination to hospitals with additional capacity. In addition to supporting patient/resident placement from healthcare facilities, such as long-term care centers, the RC3 stand ready to assist hospitals at maximum capacity seeking to decompress by transferring a group of COVID-19 or non-COVID-19 patients to other hospitals for continued care.

The Long-Term Care Support Operational Framework was created to offer guidance and resources to Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJs) that support Long-Term Care (LTC) facilities during the COVID-19 Pandemic. LTC facilities include Washington State licensed long-term care residential care, including nursing homes (skilled nursing facilities), assisted living facilities, and adult family homes. The goal is to provide strategies to mitigate facility COVID-19 outbreaks, decrease disease transmission, increase information and training opportunities, support the LTC workforce, and maintain patient care in LTC facilities.